Down Time
by jayJ530
Summary: Rex gets some much needed down time and a bored Ahsoka decides to spend some time with her favorite clone.


**A/N: Not sure if I got Rex's age right, but according to my research it is the most likely age for him to be. Feel free to tell me if I got it wrong though.**

It was a rare thing for any of the clones to get some real down time, so when General Skywalker had told Rex to go ahead and take the next few days off, he had been more than happy to comply. It wasn't long before Rex found himself sitting at the bar of some cantina, or at least what passed for a cantina in the upper levels of Coruscant, sharing some drinks with his fellow clones. The place was bit too clean, the drinks a bit over-priced, but at least here no one spared the clones a second glance.

Appo, Denal, Fox, and Echo were all seated next to him at the bar. The five of them were the only members of the 501st currently on Coruscant. Not that that was in anyway odd, nor was the fact that out of all of them, only Denal had served with Rex with any sort of regularity. Being a part of the 501st had become more of an honorary title than anything else - it meant that you were special, elite, not that you were actually serving with a particular squad.

Though none of that really mattered one way or the other to Rex or any of the rest of them. All they cared about was doing their part in fighting this war.

Rex heard a soft murmur go through the other patrons as someone entered. He turned to see what had caused the disturbance and was only slightly surprised to see the attractive young Togruta standing at the entrance. He almost smiled. A group of clones might not be worth taking notice of, but obviously a jedi was another matter entirely.

"Mind if I join you boys?" Ahsoka asked, walking over to where they were sitting.

"Of course not ma'am," Rex replied. He motioned for Denal to move over so Ahsoka could sit next to him. Denal gave him an amused look, but relinquished his seat without comment.

Ahsoka sat down in the chair with a quiet "thanks." The clones eyed her curiously as she took her place beside Rex, but none of them spoke up to ask her why she was there.

Rex motioned the serving droid over to where they were sitting.

"Get her whatever she wants," he said, pointing at Ahsoka. "It's on me."

Ahsoka gave him a quick smile before turning to the droid and ordering one of the cantina's non-alcoholic drinks. Yet another reminder of how young she really was…though to be honest, Rex was fairly certain that even adult Jedi tended to avoid alcohol. Even Skywalker and Kenobi only drank on rare occasions, and then only in moderation.

"Enjoying your time off?" Ahsoka asked him after she had taken a sip of her drink.

"Yes," Rex replied. He paused for a moment, uncertain if he might be somehow overstepping his bounds. "I'm surprised you aren't at the Temple with General Skywalker," he finally told her.

"Oh Anakin isn't at the Temple," Ahsoka informed him. "He said he had some…business to attend to."

Rex and Ahsoka shared a look. They both had a pretty good idea what 'business' Skywalker was currently attending to. He and the beautiful Senator from Naboo might be doing their best to keep their affair a secret, but Rex and Ahsoka weren't stupid. Skywalker didn't have to worry about either of them ever giving up his secret though. Ahsoka simply cared about him too much and as far as Rex was concerned that sort of thing was none of his business anyways.

"So I thought that instead of I don't know…training with the younglings, I would come spend some time with you guys," Ahsoka continued with a grin.

"Well we are more fun," quipped Fox. Ahsoka laughed.

"Exactly," she agreed.

Any tension that had existed between the jedi and the group of clones dissolved, and they all started joking and laughing with renewed vigor. Rex doubted the clones would be so comfortable if it had been any other jedi sitting with them, but with Ahsoka it was different. It was easy to see her as just some kid with an infectious smile instead of some great and powerful jedi.

"So is this the only thing you guys are going to do today?" Ahsoka asked during a lull in the conversation.

"We boring you kid?" Rex asked teasingly.

"No," Ahsoka assured him with a gentle chuckle. A look came over her face – a conniving sort of look that meant she was up to no good. Rex suddenly felt nervous.

"Rex I was wondering," she started to say, her tone a bit too casual, "just how old are you anyways?"

Rex glared at her for a moment. He knew exactly where she was going with this.

"I'm ten," he finally answered still glaring at her.

"Ten huh?" The grin she gave him was decidedly evil. "So that would make me older than you."

"I guess so," Rex replied, keeping his tone carefully neutral.

"But you have to remember ma'am, we clones go through an accelerated life cycle. So we mature faster than you do," Echo reminded the young jedi.

Rex felt a huge wave of gratitude towards Echo for finding a way to crush Ahsoka's argument before she had a chance to go anywhere with it.

"See kid," Rex said with a smirk, "it's not about age, it's about maturity. And I'm just more mature than you – physically and mentally."

"Right," Ahsoka said, rolling her eyes.

"Well it's about time we headed back to the barracks," Appo announced. All the clones stood up to leave except Rex. He hesitated, glancing over at Ahsoka then back at his fellow clones.

"Coming Captain?" Appo asked him.

"In a moment. I should probably escort Padawan Ahsoka back to the Temple," he explained.

"Yeah, feel free to babysit me Rex, I don't mind," Ahsoka said, her tone laced with heavy sarcasm.

"Alright, we'll see you at the barracks then," Appo told him. The clones turned and left, though Denal gave Rex one final amused look before he went. Rex gave him his most intimidating glare which only seemed to amuse him more.

"Well let's get going," Ahsoka said. She jumped up from her seat and motioned for Rex to follow her.

They walked in silence for a bit, simply enjoying the view and each other's company.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you out of your uniform before," Ahsoka commented, gesturing at his clothes. "It seems odd seeing you in civilian clothing. Your armor has always seemed like a part of you."

"It is," Rex responded. "It's hardly practical attire for spending some time off on Coruscant, but still, without it I feel…"

"Naked?" Ahsoka suggested, smiling gently. "I understand. That's how it is with Jedi and our lightsabers. Without them it's like a part of us is missing."

Rex gave an understanding nod. Silence overcame them once more as they continued on towards the Temple.

"Rex?" Ahsoka said, breaking the silence once more.

"Yeah kid?" Rex mumbled.

"Do you ever think about what will happen to you and the other clones after the war?" Ahsoka asked him sounding uncharacteristically timid.

Her question caught him so off guard he literally stopped walking. He thought for a moment, trying to come up with an answer.

"No," he finally said. He turned to look at Ahsoka, staring deep into her big blue eyes. "I don't worry about the 'after,' I'm too busy worrying about the now."

"But," Ahsoka hesitated, obviously trying to choose her words carefully, "don't you worry about people taking advantage of you because of…how you are?"

"Not really," Rex admitted. He smiled at her. "Why? Am I going to have to worry about _you_ taking advantage of me once the war is over?"

He nearly groaned aloud when he realized just how his words had sounded.

"Oh you know how much I love having you around to do stuff for me…heavy lifting…menial labor," Ahsoka joked, clearly oblivious of the double entendre of Rex's last question.

For a second Rex simply smiled at her childish innocence. Then he thought about what she had actually said and the smile faded a little. Ahsoka did seem to have a habit of making him do exactly what she had mentioned and though he always grumbled about it, Rex often found that he didn't really mind doing it. It was probably a sign that he needed to question his mental health that he so happily put up with all the bantha poodoo Ahsoka put him through simply because it was _her_ putting him through it. Much as he hated to admit it, the girl had always had a strange sort of power over him that had nothing to do with her out-ranking him.

They had arrived at the entrance of the Jedi Temple. For a moment they simply stood in front of the doors, not quite willing to part from each other yet.

"I should head to the barracks now," Rex said softly.

"Yeah," Ahsoka mumbled. "Thanks for escorting me Rex," she added with a gentle smile.

"No problem kid," he replied.

"You really should stop calling me kid. I am older than you after all. You should show some respect for your elders," Ahsoka teased.

"As soon as you stop being a kid, I'll stop calling you one," Rex retorted.

"Oh alright," Ahsoka conceded with a laugh. "Good night Captain," she called over her shoulder as she turned to enter the Temple.

"Good night…" he replied. He watched as the doors closed behind the pretty young jedi.

"…Ahsoka," he whispered. He stood gazing at the entrance for a second, then turned and headed in the direction of the barracks and his waiting clone brothers.


End file.
